By Rohit Vaid New Delhi, Oct 4 : Improved customer sentiment along with healthy demand from tier-II and III cities has lightened up the demand prospects for mid-size motorcycle major Royal Enfield. The company has witnessed the 'green shoots' of accelerated recovery in the last few months with the momentum only expected to grow further in the festive season. Additionally, the mid-size motorcycle major announced the commencement of local assembly of bikes in Argentina in partnership with Grupo Simpa, the local distributor in the country since 2018.A "It has been a challenging time for the industry due to subdued market sentiments in the initial few months due to the global pandemic. However, there's been a good recovery in the last month and we are expecting the momentum to continue due to improved customer sentiment," the company said in replies to a questionnaire sent by IANS. "We witnessed a substantial growth in demand in the month of August, which was at par with our pre-Covid levels." Besides, a healthy demand influx from Tier-II, III towns has helped the company propel the sales during the last few months. Last month, the mid-size motorcycle major sold 60,041 bikes as against the sales of 59,500 units on a year-on-year basis. In August, the company posted sales of 50,144 motorcycles as against the sales of 52,904 units for the same month last year. "The booking levels are encouraging and a promising sign for the coming few months. While there was some pent-up demand in the market, the recent business recovery and steady sales figures could be safely attributed to the fresh demand being generated," the company said. "Tier-II or III markets have shown great potential and this can be attributed to the expansion in our network through studio stores as currently, we have 638 studio stores across India." According to the company, with the onset of the festive season, the company is expecting a healthy demand in the upcoming quarter. "Consumer appetite in Tier I cities may take some time to normalise, however, the uptick in demand for personal mobility remains to be a positive factor," the company replied. Furthermore, the mid-size motorcycle major started a local assembly plant in Argentina. This will be the first time in Royal Enfield's history spanning years that motorcycles will be assembled and produced outside the company's manufacturing facilities in Chennai. "We will continue to make concrete inroads to expand Royal Enfield's network globally, in relevant markets. We have been working steadily to grow and expand our presence in the middleweight motorcycling segment," the motorcycle manufacturer said. In FY20, Royal Enfield added 35 new stores across its international markets with a focus on Thailand, Brazil, Argentina, France, and the UK, increasing its overall touchpoints to over 660 stores including 77 exclusive stores and 585 multi-brand outlets. (Rohit Vaid can be contacted at rohit.v@ians.in) /IANS